* Book covers often provide a general overview: They give you the title, author, genre, and maybe a brief synopsis. This is helpful to get a feel for the book, but it won't tell you if the specific information you're looking for is inside.
* Table of contents and index are your best friends: These sections act like maps of the book. The table of contents lists chapter titles, and the index (if present) provides an alphabetized list of key terms and where they appear in the book.
* Specific information is hidden within: You might find the information you're looking for in the body of the book, within a specific chapter or section.
Think of it like this: If you're looking for a particular ingredient in a recipe, you'd probably check the list of ingredients first, not just the picture on the cookbook cover.